Greater Convenience In Getting Healthy Together

Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore supports the
Healthy Together theme for HPB’s upcoming NHLC 2010
The Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS) will kick start the annual Pharmacy Week with a Health Carnival this Sunday, 24 October 2010, to encourage the community to take a pro-active and holistic approach in adopting a healthy lifestyle.

2. PSS also supports Healthy Together, the theme of the Health Promotion Board‟s (HPB) upcoming National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign (NHLC), where all Singapore residents are inspired to share the joys of living a healthy lifestyle, together with their community and families.

3. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between HPB and PSS, 200 community pharmacists at 130 retail pharmacy outlets island-wide, such as Guardian, Unity, Watsons and National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, will play an important role in educating and guiding Singaporeans towards better health. These community pharmacists will be identified by a special „Health Ambassador‟ badge. They can offer members of the public, free consultation and referrals to services and resources across a whole range of healthy lifestyle topics and chronic disease management. These include:
1. Nutrition (Healthy eating)
2. Physical Activity
3. Smoking Cessation (Quitting smoking)
4. Health Screening
5. Weight Management
6. Managing Diabetes
7. Managing High Blood Cholesterol & High Blood Pressure
8. Managing Stress
9. Managing Asthma
10. Managing Stroke
11. Good Oral Health
12. Osteoporosis

Please refer to Annex A for more information on the MOU.

4. “We are delighted to work hand-in-hand with PSS to develop and provide training for community pharmacists. HPB is pledging support to extend our partnership with PSS. Through increasing the number of pharmacists who can provide preventive health advice and referral services, we‟re making it even easier for Singaporeans to be healthy together,” said Mr. Lam Pin Woon, Chief Executive Officer, Health Promotion Board.

5. Ms Fatimah Moideen Kutty, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore, added, “Besides the traditional role of pharmacists as medication experts, their clinical expertise puts them in a good position to provide credible assistance on preventive health and disease management. By making them accessible sources of health information to the community, these pharmacists play a key role in educating and assisting Singaporeansto make lifestyle and behavioural changes.”

6. To recognise the valuable contributions of community pharmacists in supporting the national health promotion effort, HPB will be honouring the top ten most active pharmacists with a “Pharmacist Health Ambassador Award 2010” at the launch of the Pharmacy Week at the Health Carnival on 24 October 2010.

About Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS)
The Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS) is a non-profit organisation representing pharmacists in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Pharmaceutical Society, today it is steered by an elected council comprising a president and 11 council members. The society aims to maximize the contribution of pharmacists to the healthcare of Singaporeans. This is done by working with various stake holders to provide Singaporeans with high quality pharmaceutical services, with emphasis on safe, efficacious and cost effective drug treatments. In addition, the society advocates health promotion and healthy lifestyle through disease prevention and responsible self-care/self-medication. . As the professional body for pharmacists, it also runs a comprehensive year-long continuing education programme where all members are strongly encouraged to participate and keep themselves updated professionally.

About Health Promotion Board
The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is a statutory board formed under the Ministry of Health, Singapore. HPB is the key national driver for health education, promotion and disease prevention programmes for children, adults and the older adults in Singapore. The vision of HPB is a nation of healthy and happy people, while the mission is to promote health excellence by empowering individuals to take ownership of their health. With its partners, HPB creates a supportive environment, and provides health education and preventive health services to empower Singaporeans to attain the best possible health throughout life.

About Healthy Together
Healthy Together, the theme for National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign 2010, inspires all Singapore residents to share the joys a healthy lifestyle can bring – especially when we do it together, across our social networks. The campaign taps into our collective desire to build brighter futures for our families, friends and neighbours.

Annex A:
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF SINGAPORE
AND HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD
THE PHARMACIST PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

JANUARY 2010 – DECEMBER 2011
As part of the Memorandum of Understanding between HPB and PSS signed in January 2010, the Pharmacist Health Ambassador Programme has been revamped and re-launched. HPB will support PSS in developing, providing and funding relevant training for participating pharmacists. With the revamped programme, a broader spectrum of health topics, including chronic disease management, weight management, health screening, osteoporosis and healthy lifestyle practices, have been included in the training, so that the pharmacists are equipped to provide more holistic care to their clients. It is hoped through this partnership, health promotion will soon become a routine component of all pharmacists‟ day-to-day work.
The objectives of this Pharmacist Partnerships Programme are as follow:
a) To increase outreach and enhance the population‟s knowledge and skills on adopting a healthy lifestyle so as to prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases;
b) To equip pharmacists with preventive health knowledge and skills to effectively merge preventive and curative care advice to achieve better health outcomes for the population; and
c) To increase the accessibility of effective preventive health advice to members of the public.

This MOU will encompass four main collaborations between HPB and PSS
(i) PHARMACIST HEALTH AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME
This programme involves building capacity of community pharmacists in the preventive health services, and equipping them with skills and knowledge to provide opportunistic health advice to clients on healthy lifestyle and appropriate chronic disease management.

(ii) PRE-REGISTRATION PHARMACIST PROGRAMME
This programme aims to provide pre-registration pharmacists with (a) an appreciation of the importance of preventive health care; and (b) the necessary skills and knowledge to counsel patients and clients on preventive health issues, particularly tobacco cessation.

(iii) CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMME
The Continuing Education Programme intends to encourage pharmacists to expand their knowledge base and stay up-to-date on new developments. The programme will also provide a platform for interested pharmacists to gain more in-depth skills in selected topics.

(iv) MEDICATION CHECK-UP PROGRAMME
A medication management system refers to a standardised process ensuring the safe and effective use of medications.